Environment

The advertising agency JWT moved to the Netherlands and a 19th century building in the heart of Amsterdam. The office displays a mix of different and intriguing designs by RJW Elsinga. They way an office should look… (via Fubiz)

Patricia Urquiola (born 1961) is a Spanish architect and designer. Urquiola was born in Oviedo (Spain) and now lives and works in Milan. She attended the Faculty of Architecture of the Technical University of Madrid were she graduated in 1989 having done a thesis with Achille Castiglioni. From 1990 to 1992 she was assistant lecturer on the courses held by Achille Castiglioni and Eugenio Bettinelli both at the Politecnico di Milano university and at the E.N.S.C.I. in Paris. Between 1990 and 1996 she worked for the new product development office of De Padova and with Vico Magistretti signed the products: “Flower”, “Loom sofa”, “Chaise” and “Chaise Longue”.

From 1993 to 1996 she had an associate practice with architects de Renzio and Ramerino and was engaged in architectural design, showrooms, restaurants and franchising (Maska/Italy, Tomorrowland Stores/Japan, Des Pres/France). In 1996 she became head of the Lissoni Associati design group, working for Alessi, Antares-Flos, Artelano, Boffi, Cappellini, Cassina, Kartell, and others. At the same time, on her own, she designed for B&B Italia, Bosa, De Vecchi, Fasem, Kartell, Liv’it, MDF Italia, Molteni & C., Moroso and Tronconi and designed stands and showroom for Knoll, Moroso, Sag 80, and Somma. She has greatly contributed to B&B Italia Outdoor, releasing three collections from 2007-2009: Canasta, Crinoline and Ravel.

Her products were selected for the Italian Design 2001 exhibition and for International Design Yearbook 1999 and 2001. In 2001 she was chair of the jury for the 19th CDIM Design Award and was lecturer in the Domus Academy. She is currently conducting her professional activity in her own studio in Milan in the field of design, exhibitions, art direction, and architecture. She was the inspiration behind the naming of Ulquiorra Cifer, a character on the anime series Bleach. (via Wikipedia)

Ludwig Mies van der Rohe (March 27, 1886 – August 17, 1969) was a German-American architect. He was commonly referred to and addressed by his surname, Mies, by his colleagues, students, writers, and others.

Ludwig Mies van der Rohe, along with Walter Gropius and Le Corbusier, is widely regarded as one of the pioneering masters of Modern architecture. Mies, like many of his post World War I contemporaries, sought to establish a new architectural style that could represent modern times just as Classical and Gothic did for their own eras. He created an influential 20th century architectural style, stated with extreme clarity and simplicity. His mature buildings made use of modern materials such as industrial steel and plate glass to define interior spaces. He strived towards an architecture with a minimal framework of structural order balanced against the implied freedom of free-flowing open space. He called his buildings “skin and bones” architecture. He sought a rational approach that would guide the creative process of architectural design, and is known for his use of the aphorisms “less is more” and “God is in the details”. (via Wikipedia)

Gotta like this nice little package design and concept. It´s a new idea from Puma & Fuseproject on how the shoebox can save millions in electricity, fuel, and water. A great package design with a great environmental depth to it. I am still extremely keen on working with package design. I really hope I get the opportunity to do that in a very near future…

“Rethinking the shoebox is an incredibly complex problem, and the cost of cardboard and the printing waste are huge, given that 80M are shipped from China each year,” Béhar tells FastCompany.com. “Cargo holds in the ships can reach temperatures of 110 degrees for weeks on end, so packaging becomes an enormous problem. This solution protects the shoes, and helps stores to stock them, while saving huge costs in materials.”

After spending 21 months studying box fabrication and shipping, Fuseproject realized that any improvement to that already lean system would merely be incremental. So instead, the “clever little bag” combines the two packaging components of any shoe sale—the bag and the box—with high-tech ingenuity.

The bag tightly wraps an interior cardboard scaffolding—giving it shape and reducing cardboard use by 65%. Moreover, without that shiny box exterior, there’s no laminated cardboard (which interferes with recycling). There’s no tissue paper inside. And there’s no throw-away plastic bag. The bag itself is made of recycled PET, and it’s non-woven—woven fibers increase density and materials use—and stitched with heat, so that it’s less manufacturing intensive.

The impact: Puma estimates that the bag will slash water, energy, and fuel consumption during manufacturing alone by 60%—in one year, that comes to a savings of 8,500 tons of paper, 20 million mega joules of electricity, 264,000 gallons of fuel, and 264 gallons of water. Ditching the plastic bags will save 275 tones of plastic, and the lighter shipping weight will save another 132,000 gallons of diesel. The roll-out is planned for next year.” (via Gizmodo)

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